Tubing or pipe



April 1933- I c. G. NAYLOR 1,906,011

TUBING OR PIPE Original Filed Jan. 9. 1931 2 SheetsSheet 1 f 55%, j/ M1@320 April 3- G. NAYLOR 1,906,011

TUBING OR PIPE Original Filed Jan. 9, 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 PatentedApr. 25, 1933 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE GAIL G. HAYLOB, OI CHICAGO,ILLDIOIS, ASSIGNOB '10 HAY-LOB PIPE 001mm, 01' CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ACOBI'OBATION OF ILLINOIS TUBING OB PIPE Original application fledJanuary 8, 1981, Serial ll'o. 507,880. Divided and this application fledApril 5, 1930. Serial No. 441,885.

This invention relates to tubing or pipe, and has as its primary objectthe production of improved spiral pipe having end pieces welded theretowhereby lengths of the pipe 6 ma be connected to each other, or standarpipe, by standard coupling devices.

Pipe of the kind described is usually formed from stri s or ribbons ofmetal and has relatively thin walls so that its inside and outside.dimensions cannot both con form to standard pipe dimensions. The

usual practice is to roduce pipe of this character having insi ediameters that are standard. My invention contemplates producing suchpipe provided with accurately formed end-pieces which permit lengthsthereof to be secured to each other, or to standard pipe, by standardcoupling devices.

One form of the invention is embodied in spiral pipe formed by winding astrip or ribbon of metal into spirally related convolutions having alock-seam that is held in such manner that it becomes fluid-tight. Thepipe is preferably formed with a standard inside diameter, but the wallis preferably too thin to have its outside diameter conform to thecorresponding standard outside diameter. Welded to the spiral'pipe 0thus formed are end-pieces that are preferably of standard pipedimensions and are preferably formed in such manner that the inner andouter surfaces thereof are concentric.

Pipe embodying the preferred form of my invention can be producedeconomically in commercial quantities and has many advantages. Thus,while it is relatively strong, it has thin walls and is relatively lightin weight. The improved annular end-pieces insure that several pieces ofthe pipe may be coupled quickly and easily to each other, or tostandardpipe.

Many other objects and advantages will appear as this descriptionprogresses, refadapted for use in connection with screw- Fig. 2 is anenlarged fragmentary lon tudinal section taken through one end of t epipe shown in Fig. 1; ig. 3 is a blank from which one of the annularend-pieces is formed;

Fig. 4 is a perspective yiew of one of the annular end-pieces;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary side elevation of a splral pipe provided withannular endpieces having standard inside and outside pipe dimensions,this embodiment being par ticularly adapted for bolted joints;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary side elevation of a s iral pipe provided withshorter annular en -pieces having standard inside and outside gipedimensions, the end-pieces employe in this instance being particularlythreaded couplings, and

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary elevation of a spiral pipe having annularend-pieces which have standard inside and outside pipe diameters and areparticularly adapted to be welded to the ends of a spiral pipe, or tothe ends of a standard pipe.

Referring to the drawings, the reference character 10 designates,generally, a spiral pipe which preferably comprises a body portion 11formed by windin a ribbon or strip of metal around a man rel, or anyother suitable means, to provide a plurality of spirally relatedconvolutions, the convolutions being rigidly secured to each other by aspiral lock-seam 12. Pipe formed'in this manner is a commercial productand is employed for various purposes. The pipe has relatively thin wallsand is constructed, in this instance, so that its inside diameter is astandard inside diameter for wrought iron pipe. The outer diameter ofthe pipe is less than the corresponding. outside 'ameter. The lock-seam12 is preferabl welded to 5 the outer surface of the pipe as s own at12a.

A feature of the improved pipe is the outwardl flaring portion of thewall adjacent one e ge of the lock-seam. This outwardly flaring portionextends spirally around the ipe substantially the entire length thereof.

ith this construction, the pipe may be bent cold. It is common practiceto dig a curved ditch and then bend a pipe to correspond to thecurvature of the ditch. It is also common practice to bend steel pipehaving longitudinal seams, but such pipe is first heated. The outwardlyflaring portion of the wall of the pipe functions as an expansion 'ointextending continuously along the lengt of the pipe. Numerous lengths ofthe improved pipe may be welded to each other and the outwardly flaringportions will yield to absorb "changes in the length of the pipe due totemperature changes.

The pipe may be of any desired length and after it has been formed itsends are trimmed so that they lie in planes which are substantially atright angles to the longitudinal axis of the pipe. Welded to the ends ofthe pipe are annular end-pieces 20 which have inside and outsidediameters corresponding to standard inside and outside pipe diameters.In this instance the annual end-pieces are rovided with annual grooves19 so that ictaulic pipe couplings may be employed to connect lengths ofthe spiral pipe to each other, or to a standard pipe. Each end-piece 20is preferably provided with a chamfered or beveled edge 24 for a purposewhich will presently appear.

ile, in some instances, I may em loy sections of standard pi for theend-pieces 20, I prefer to form t em from blanks or bars 20a, one ofwhich is shown in Fig. 3. The reason for this preference is that theinside and outside surfaces of wrought iron pipe are not consistentlyconcentric and when grooves, screw-threads, etc., are cut therein oneside of the pipe is weakened to such an extent that the use of such pipesections as ends in connection with spiral pipe formed from steel doesont insure a finished product that will have the usual factor of safetyas far as its stren h is concerned. Also, when a pipe section oes nothave substantially concentric inner and outer surfaces, the bond betweensuch pipe sections and the spiral pipe in apt to be weak where tgpnmetalof the pipe section is relatively t i -The annular end pieces 20 arepreferably formed from the blanks 20a by first roughly forming eachblank into a ring, after which each ring is placed in suitable apparatus(not shown) having members that exert pressure on the inner and outersurfaces of the ring and press it into true annular form. The ends ofthe blank from which the ring is formed are then welded to each other.The chamfered edge 24 and the groove 19 are then formed after which thering or completed end-piece is welded to the spiral pipe, preferably bya machine of the type shown in my co-pending application, Serial No.389,712, filed August 31, 1929, which machine preferably compriseswelding apparatus of the metallic electrode type so that the metal ofthe electrode is deposited at the weld.

In welding the end-piece to one end of the spiral pipe, the chamferededge 24 is positioned adjacent that end so that a substantially V-shapedannular groove is provided. This practice is advantageous as it makes itunnecessary to heat a relatively large quantity of metal on either sideof the weld, the V-shaped groove being partly filled by the fusedelectrode and partly by fused metal from the pipe and endiece.

The finished weld is prefera ly the result of a plurality of weldingoperations so that fused metal from the electrode is deposited aplurality of times. Obviously, a strong bond between the end-piece andthe ipe is obtained and the jolnt is protected in such manner that therewill be no failure thereof as the result of corrosion.

In Fig. 2, I have indicated by heavy dotted lines that the bond betweenthe 1pe and end-piece is preferably formed by three welding operationsso that three welds 26, 27 and 28 are formed, weld 26 being formed firstand the welds 27 and 28 being so rimposed thereon. When the first weling operation is performed, the pipe and endpiece are relativel cool andthe first weld would be relative y brittle, if it were not reheatedduring the second welding operation. Also the weld would often beunsatisfactory as more or less holes would appear therein when it cooledand there would not be a fluid-tight seal between the end-piece and thepipes. By superimposing the second and third welds upon the first whilethe metal heated during the first weldin o eration is relatively hot,the metal in t e nd and adjacent it is annealed so that it has a highfactor of safety. This is an exceedingly important featured theinvention.

In Fig. 5, I have illustrated another form of the invention embodied ina pipe comprising a spiral pipe 11b having an end 20b welded thereto bya triple weld 26b, the end 20b being referably formed from a blanksimilar to the blank 20a, but of different proportions. The end 201) isrelatively long so that it is particularly adapted to be connected to asimilar end on another pipe by a standard bolted connection, or couplingdevice. Of course, the inside and outside dimensions of the end piece206 are standard inside and outside pipe dimensions, respectively, andone edge of the end-piece is re-ferably chamfered as indicated.

Fig. 6, I have shown a spiral pipe 110 having an annular end-piece 200preferably constructed in the same manner as the above describedend-piece 20, but proportioned for standard pipe. The end-piece 200 isprovided with screw-threads so that it may be connected toscrew-threaded standard pipe fittings.

Fi 7 illustrates a spiral pipe 11d rovide with an annular end piece 201!w 'ch has standard inside and outside pipe diameters. The end piece 20dis preferabl constructed in the same manner as the en -piece 20, but itsouter edge is chamfered, as at 30d, so that it may be connected securelyto a similar endiece (not shown) which is in part of anot er pipe. Whenthe two endpieces are brought into position for the weldmg operation asubstantially V-shaped groove is provided for the same purpose that theV-shaped groove is provided when tljle end-piece 20 is welded to thespiral pipe 1 The above described pipes embodying my invention aredescribed only as examples, as the end-pieces may be made to fit anydesired cou ling device.

While have shown and described certain embodiments of my invention, itis to be understood that it is capable of man modifications. Changes,therefore, in t e construction and arrangement may be made withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention as disclosed in theappended claims, in which it is my intention to claim all noveltyinherent in my invention as broadly as possible, in view of the priorart.

What I regard as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. A pipe comprisin a ribbon of metal providing a plurality o spiralconvolutions Joined to each other by a spiral lock seam extendingsubstantially the entire length of the pipe and including a spiraloutwardly flaring portion of the wall of said pipe, the portion of thelock seam s aced from said outwardly flaring portion ing welded to thepipe to form a fluid tight joint along said lock seam, said lock seampreventing failure of said weld by forces acting longitudinally of saidpipe and, also, forces bending said pipe, and annular end pieces weldedto the ends of the spiral convolutions.

2. A pipe comprising a ribbon of metal roviding a plurality of spiralconvolutions oined to each other by a spiral lock seam extendingsubstantially the entire length of the pipe and including a spiraloutwardly flaring portion of the wall of said pipe, the portion of thelock seam spaced from said

